“No, I don’t,” Elise said. Her stomach couldn’t handle much more. She pondered all this then blew out a long breath. “Why and how are they blackmailing him? Like, for what reason?”
Penny shrugged. “I’m guessing we’ll find that out when they have their little meeting tonight.”
“These people are horrible human beings,” Elise stated.
“Damn right, they are.” Penny nodded, pushing away her keyboard. “What’s the plan?”
Elise cringed. Doing the very thing she didn’t want to do right now. Feeling barely able to control her emotions, she grabbed her phone from her purse and texted Archer. I know there’s been trouble at the club. But can we meet tonight? I’ve got a big update on the case.
It felt like forever before his reply came in. Yes. Should Rhys be there?
Yes. Soon, this case would be concluded. Rhys should be there for that, too.
what time?
The meeting between the trio was at seven o’clock. She needed time to record that conversation too. 9 o’clock?
Can I see you before then?
Her heart squeezed. I can’t. Working the case.
See you later, then, Elise.
She could almost hear his tone of voice. He had more to say, and he planned to say it. “Okay,” she said, telling said heart to pull it together. “How about I grab us some dinner while we wait for this meeting to begin? Indian sound good?”
Penny rubbed her belly. “Sounds delicious.”
Elise made it a foot away before Penny called, “Hey, Elise.” She turned back to Penny, who added, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She and Penny had formed an unusual friendship. It wasn’t the familiar type of friendship she had with Hazel and Zoey, where she shared her daily updates, her struggles, and her joy. But this type of friendship came from respect, and deep down, Penny probably knew Elise just as well as Zoey and Hazel. She’d seen it all. The crime scene photos. The police report. The hard truths. And she didn’t pity Elise. Because of that, sharing the truth came easy. “No, I don’t think I am.”
Chapter 15
Archer could barely contain himself as he sat on a stool at the bar, watching Elise approach him, exactly like she had at the beginning of the case. Only this time, everything was different. He was a different man. One who wasn’t looking for a casual fuck. But he knew Elise would want to finish the job before he demanded her time—they were alike that way, understood the value of a job well done—so he drew on his training to stay calm and patient while Rhys handed Elise the rectangular piece of paper. “For a job well done.”
She looked down at the check Archer knew was in the amount of two hundred and seventy thousand dollars. “I know I’m good,” she said to Rhys, lifting her tired eyes. “But I’m not that good.”
Rhys polished off his shot and laughed softly. “I suspect the member who paid for your show the night you were here would disagree with you.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “This money is for the show?”
“In part,” Rhys said. “I added on the payment for the case. If I owe more, feel free to bill me.”
“Ah, I think this covers it,” she said with a snort. She handed it back to him. “Thanks, but I don’t want the money. Cut me a new check with the payment for the case only.”
As Archer knew he would, Rhys rose and refused to take it. “Do what you want with the money, Elise, but that’s your money, not mine.” Clearly done with the conversation, he turned away. “I’ve got no doubt you’ve got news, so let’s get to it.” Leaving his empty glass, he strode off.
It took all of Archer’s strength not to take Elise into his arms and tell her everything was going to be all right, but he could tell by the coldness in her eyes that would never be enough. And he needed more than a few minutes to get right what he got so wrong. “Ready?” he asked her.
She gave a firm nod. “Always.”
He gestured for her to follow Rhys, and he stepped in behind her as they all went into Archer’s office, where Hunt and Kieran were waiting. Elise set her laptop on the desk and powered it up. Once ready, she turned back to Rhys. “Ready to hear what I found?”
Archer realized that whenever Elise spoke about her job, she never mentioned we, always protecting Penny. He really loved that about her. So damn loyal, so damn good.
Sitting in the opposite chair from Archer, Rhys nodded. “Yes, play it.”
Elise clicked her mouse once, pulling up an audio file. “You’ll hear three voices. Isaac, Connie, and the angry voice is Elijah, Connie’s husband and brother of Isaac. I’ve only taken the one clip since it’s most important. But I’ve got the rest for you to listen to, if you’d like.”
“Got it,” Rhys said.
She clicked enter, and voices soon filled Rhys’ office.
Archer recognized them immediately, except for Elijah’s since they’d never met, but the anger in his voice was palpable.
“Let me get this straight,” Elijah ground out. “This photograph is of you, my wife, and my brother, at a sex club. You’ve already sold it, and it has been printed. And if I don’t agree to whatever the fuck you want, you’re going to reveal yourselves to the public to ruin me?”
Isaac practically purred. “Good. You understand.”
A long pause. “How the fuck would this ruin me? You’ll be trashing your own names.”
“You’ve worked for years to get the nomination to become a U.S. Attorney,” Connie said coolly. “You’re almost there. It’s in your reach. Are you really ready to walk away from that?”
“You fucking bitch,” Elijah roared.
“Don’t speak to her like that,” Isaac growled. “Not ever, brother.”
Elijah snarled. “We are not brothers. You are dead to me.”
“Just give us what we want, Elijah,” Connie said sweetly, softly. “And we’ll leave you alone. We can quietly divorce after your appointment, and you can move on with your life.”
“And what exactly do you want, Connie?” Elijah sneered.
A pause. “I want you to break the prenup.”
Another pause. Longer this time. Until Elijah erupted. “You motherfucker.” A loud bang followed by yelling that became nearly deafening.
Elise hit enter, and the audio went dead. She said to Rhys, “They break out into a fight, but I caught most of what they were saying. So, basically, when Elijah and Isaac’s father died, his multimillions were left to Elijah, not Isaac, because of Isaacs’s gambling addiction. Isaac was left a few million when his grandfather passed, so he’s definitely not hurting for money.”
“All right…” Rhys said.
Hunt and Kieran leaned forward, all eyes on Elise. Archer couldn’t take his eyes off her either. He’d seen grown men look intimated surrounded by this group. Not Elise. She looked…perfect.
She shut her laptop, then leaned against the desk, folding her arms. “When Isaac was in rehab, he and Connie hashed out a plan to get Isaac’s share of the money. So, Connie seduced Elijah and became his wife. And they waited…waited until Elijah had something he wanted bad enough that he’d give up the money to keep it. Becoming a U.S. Attorney is a lifelong dream for him, from what I understand. To be exposed like this would tarnish his image forever. His wife screwing his brother in a sex club, it’s a scandal he wouldn’t recover from. And no one would back his nomination.”